Coco Gauff continued her strong performance at the U.S. Open, defeating Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Round of 16. Gauff, the No. 4 seed and a two-time Grand Slam champion, is making her fifth consecutive appearance in the second week of the tournament, having won all three of her matches in straight sets.
Her victory came on a day when several other American players and former U.S. Open finalists, including Taylor Fritz, Amanda Anisimova, and Madison Keys, were eliminated in the third round. Gauff has now won nine consecutive matches and 17 consecutive sets dating back to her title win at the Cincinnati Open last month.
"I prepare myself for the possibility … I think, if anything, it makes me have my guard up all the time, which makes me play better," Gauff said when asked about the upsets of her compatriots.
Gauff's advancement ensures that all six of the most recent Grand Slam women's singles champions will compete in the Round of 16. Other top seeds, including No. 8 Iga Swiatek and No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, also secured their places in the next round.
The men's draw also saw significant upsets. No. 5 Flavio Cobolli was eliminated after falling to No. 28 Alexander Blockx, following the earlier exit of Fritz, who lost a two-set lead. The tournament has been characterized by the early departures of several top players, with only a fraction of the top 10 seeds remaining in contention.
American wild-card Michael Zheng's run ended in a five-set match against Frenchman Arthur Gea. Meanwhile, American Iva Jovic secured her first-ever Round of 16 berth at the U.S. Open after a grueling three-hour match.